Penny
Artist: Buffalo Soldiers

An intense, political slant on an uneven production. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Artist: Black Sheep
Community Score: 7.40

Playfully satirical, witty, and incredibly imaginative, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing introduced one of the freshest talents in early-'90s rap, a self-produced duo who caught the tail end of the Native Tongues family. Though Dres and Mista Lawnge didn't match the brilliant wordplay of A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul, their topics were... Read More

The Low End Theory
Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Community Score: 8.42

While most of the players in the jazz-rap movement never quite escaped the pasted-on qualities of their vintage samples, with The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest created one of the closest and most brilliant fusions of jazz atmosphere and hip-hop attitude ever recorded. The rapping by Q-Tip and Phife Dawg could be the smoothest of any rap... Read More

Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983-1991
Artist: Run-D.M.C.
Community Score: 7.00

For the most part, all of Run-D.M.C.'s most important singles and biggest hits are included on Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983-1991. That alone makes the compilation a necessary purchase. However, that doesn't mean it's a perfectly assembled collection. Instead of presenting the singles in chronological order, the sequencing skips back and... Read More

Live From the Styleetron
Artist: Raw Fusion

When Money-B came out with his side project Raw Fusion, it was clear that the Digital Underground member wasn't trying to duplicate Underground's sound. Parts of Live from Styleetron are as quirky and eccentric as Underground, but while Underground was heavily influenced by the 1970s funk grooves of George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic,... Read More

Brown & Proud
Artist: Lighter Shade of Brown
Community Score: 10.00

Latino rappers have ranged from pop-oriented (Gerardo) to hardcore (Cypress Hill, Tha Mexikinz). Debuting with Brown and Proud, Lighter Shade of Brown made it clear that they fell into the latter category. The title says it all -- the L.A. group wears its Mexican-American heritage like a badge of honor on this promising CD, and in doing so, is... Read More

I Wish My Brother George Was Here
Artist: Del The Funky Homosapien
Community Score: 7.61

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien may be the cousin of gangsta rap icon Ice Cube, who was the executive producer on this debut, but it would be hard to imagine two more dissimilar artists. Yet, just as Ice Cube helped popularize and legitimize West Coast gangsta rap with NWA, Del helped lay the foundation for what would become California's thriving... Read More

De La Soul Is Dead
Artist: De La Soul
Community Score: 7.91

On their notorious second album, De La Soul went to great lengths to debunk the daisy-age hippie image they'd been pigeonholed with, titling the record De La Soul Is Dead and putting a picture of wilting daisies in a broken flowerpot on the cover. Critics and fans alike were puzzled as to why the group was seemingly rejecting what had been... Read More

Dead Serious
Artist: Das EFX
Community Score: 9.83

Das EFX -- part of EPMD's Def Squad crew, which also included K-Solo and Redman, among others -- made such a wide breakthrough in 1992 with their debut album that their hit "They Want EFX" was even referenced in the lily-white teen serial Beverly Hills 90210. That Dead Serious could have that sort of broad impact and still retain its credibility... Read More

Ain't No Shame in My Game
Artist: Candyman

When a rapper does well in the R&B or pop markets, hip-hop's hardcore tends to view the artist with suspicion, however strong his or her rapping skills might be. That was exactly what happened to Candyman when "Knockin' Boots" (a catchy single that sampled Betty Wright's "Tonight Is the Night") enjoyed considerable crossover action. Some... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: TKA
Community Score: 9.00

In the 1980s and early '90s, TKA was the top male group in the genre termed "freestyle" and "Latin hip-hop." The latter is a definite misnomer, for this type of music isn't hip-hop per se, but rather dance music with hip-hop and Latin elements. Boasting such club smashes as "One Way Love," "Tears May Fall," "Scars of Love" and "Come Get My... Read More